Book Review: ‘Ready For My Close-Up: The Making of Sunset Boulevard and the Dark Side of the Hollywood Dream’ By David M. Lubin

by | Aug 8, 2025 | Books, Featured Post | 0 comments


The Shark Movie. The Wicked Witch Movie. The Prison Escape Movie. The Jury Room Movie. The Holocaust Movie. The Angel Gets His Wings Movie. Most every movie lover can name these from the rudimentary description, and for his latest book, author David M Lubin selected yet another instantly recognizable film … The Swimming Pool Movie, officially known as SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950). That opening scene with the body floating face down in the swimming pool of a gothic mansion is instantly seared into the mind of all who watch.

When setting out to write a book about a 75-year-old classic movie, the writer must know that their own passion for the project will be matched (and possibly eclipsed) by those in the limited prospective audience – those obsessed with the movie and with Hollywood lore. As one who falls into that category, it is with immense pleasure that I report author Lubin delivers the goods to satisfy any and every cinephile. All fans of SUNSET BOULEVARD will most assuredly be fascinated by, and appreciative of, the exhaustive research required to pull this off.

Lubin chooses an unusual structure for the book. It’s not told in storybook form, but rather in chapters – sometimes seemingly unrelated – that blend to take us behind the scenes, as well as profiling those involved with the production. This serves as a history lesson plus a character study, and also as a glimpse of the movie-making process. As a result, we better understand what went in to producing this stellar feature, while also self-reflecting on what we as viewers have taken from the film. What did it mean to us? How do we interpret the characters’ actions and motivations? There is a distinct possibility that your views might shift a bit after taking in all the book offers.

A significant chunk is dedicated to the film’s co-writers, six-time Oscar winner Billy Wilder (who also directed) and three-time Oscar winner Charles Brackett (who also produced) and D.M. Marshmann Jr. The three men shared the Best Writing Oscar for the film, while Wilder and Brackett were frequent collaborators on other classic films like NINOTCHKA (1939) and THE LOST WEEKEND (1945). Lubin excels in diving into this complicated professional relationship between two men who couldn’t have been more different from one another, yet who also brought out each other’s best work. They even argued about that now iconic opening swimming pool sequence.

Of course, many movie lovers care most about what goes on in front of the camera, so Lubin provides, in absorbing detail, much about William Holden, Erich von Stroheim, and the amazing Gloria Swanson. When this film is discussed, many enjoy noting the similarities between Ms. Swanson’s actual career and that of her Norma Desmond. Viewers often describe Norma as a relic of the past. It should be noted that Ms. Swanson was fifty years old during production, and as contemporary comparisons, Sandra Bullock is now 61, Nicole Kidman is 58, Julianne Moore is 64, while Naomi Watts and Julia Robers are both 57. Turning 50 in 2025: Charlize Theron, Kate Winslet, and Angelina Jolie. Perhaps Ms. Swanson deserves even more accolades for her performance. Yes, Hollywood and societal judgments have shifted when it comes to middle-aged women, and we are much the better for it. Author Lubin does not make these contemporary comparisons, but his writing motivated me to do so.

Also deserving of the expansive write-up in the book is Erich von Stroheim. Few have combined success behind and in front of the camera like von Stroheim. He even directed Gloria Swanson in his 1929 silent film QUEEN KELLY … this more than thirty years prior to portraying her dedicated and enabling valet, Max Von Mayerling. Erich von Stroheim’s background and career could carry its own book, and Lubin does a terrific job painting a portrait of this proud man. William Holden gets the expected coverage, but as with his struggling screenwriter (and narrator) Joe Gillis, he’s overshadowed by the more colorful and intriguing characters. Even renowned filmmaker Cecil B DeMille (Oscar winner for THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, 1952) is given his due for portraying a gentle version of himself. Others receiving brief coverage include Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Jack Webb, (famed Hollywood columnist) Hedda Hopper, and one of the all-time greats, Buster Keaton.

Lubin details the difficult search for the perfect mansion, and even once they found it, a swimming pool had to be constructed. The challenges in creating the script make for fascinating reading, and for anyone who believes filmmaking is a precise science, this book cracks the façade known as the magic of Hollywood. Movies are made by humans and humans are flawed … perhaps Hollywood humans more so than average. Lubin goes head-on with the theory that this classic film bashes the Hollywood system for what it does to those whose lives are intertwined with it. Through his meticulous research and many pointed observations, Lubin challenges us to re-think our interpretation of the film. What more could one ask from a book on ‘The Swimming Pool’ movie?

The book releases on August 12, 2025

David Ferguson
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